A visit to the western front

By Gary Olrich
Updated July 27 2016 - 3:09pm, first published July 25 2016 - 7:31pm

My grandfather Bert Olrich was in the 59th Artillery Battery attached to the 15th field Artillery Brigade which was involved at the battle of Fromelles. On our recent tour our battlefield guide, retired Army Colonel Rod Margetts had a remarkable knowledge of all the battles that took place during WW1 involving Australians. We also visited many other sites and the Menin Gate where a lot of Walcha men saw action. One of the more emotional moments was a visit to a small cemetery at Mont Brehain which includes the bodies of some of the last Australians to be killed in action on  Oct 5, 1918 including some original Anzacs. We felt a great deal of pride in being able to attend the commemorative services to pay our respect to all those who made the supreme sacrifice. To this day the French and Belgium people still have a strong bond with Australia and after finding out where you come from are very keen to chat. In a small bar in Albert after the owner found out we were Australian he said. "for you I pay this one".

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